BREAKING NEWS Thai immigration reveals new requirements for retirement, marriage extensions (visas)

[albertik]

After having read this thread AND binge watching "It's always sunny in Philadelphia" I now fully understand what a former USA president meant when he said " it depends on what the meaning of  "is" is.

[geoffbezoz]

4 minutes ago, rumak said:

Gee, this might be a crazy suggestion, but  WHY NOT ASK THE BANK IF MC..ETC   IS THE CODE FOR AN INTL TRANSLER ???     

Just an idea  ......

not a crazy idea at all, rather a sensible one which is exactly why I have already emailed Kasikorn outlining the issue and requesting their definition of exactly what they could confirm in a statement relative to the "Dummy Branch MCL ... etc etc" ).  Awaiting their response.

Edited January 7, 2019 by geoffbezoz

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Page 37

What is on page 37? Post number one has the real info.

The amendment does not state anything about the money in the bank or combination option. It only mentions the options for proving your income.

[ginjag]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

They are not messing you around again;

They are helping you to stay despite the decision of your embassy.

How are they helping you stay, a good % had 30k and 540k in the bank,  how do persons get  more O/A/pension to cover the income ??     they are helping only the persons with bigger incomes/pensions..  BUT you are thinking of these more well off people.   Imagine a person living here 14 years ...all of a sudden he may have to sell a small condo to rake up the 800,000 baht,  then go and rent.....failing that sell his car.....FAIR  ??  helping  ?????

[Pattaya46]

6 minutes ago, mogandave said:

7 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Where do you read any change ?

Page 37

??

Don't see anything about money in the bank on page 37

And in fact nothing in the OP is about the money in the bank option.

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

The will accept a letter from the bank done the day before you apply,

But for the money in the bank option they want the bank book updated on the day you apply to prove the money is still in the bank. For proving the income that would not be needed since you are not proving the balance in the account.

Just so that I am clear on the new documentary requirements without having to wade through this lengthy thread once again, these are:-

 

(1) Bank balance letter as per the seasoned 800k/400k method;

 

(2) Bank certificate confirming that each 40k/65k+ monthly transfer credited over the preceding 12 months originated from abroad;

 

(3) Passbook copies covering all transactions over the previous 12 months;

 

(4) In cases where the passbook has been overprinted over this period (thanks to faint updating machine ribbons), a separate bank statement listing all relevant transactions.

 

Correct, please? And, in the case of the monthly income method, will not Immigration accept docs obtained from your bank any time after the latest (12th) monthly transfer has been credited (your comment would appear to indicate that they might not)?
 

Edited January 7, 2019 by OJAS

[evadgib]

15 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

Interesting comment. I actually got a 'heads up' on this topic 2 or 3 years ago.

 

I used to spend some time in Nong Khai back then, and I met up with a senior American who, like me, liked to take a morning stroll by the river.

 

He told me one day over coffee that he had just completed his extension using the usual affidavit. He was very disturbed by the fact that the I/O had told him that this would be the last extension he would be able to get without providing some proof of income.

 

And he also confessed to me that he would not be able to meet the criteria. 'So maybe this time next year I won't be around here'. he said and he was obviously very upset.

 

So this is not a new sudden decision at all and I think that you're right that it was the affidavits that TI were initially targeting.

Seconded. Without going into too much detail I was shown a random sample of a dozen or so documents from different nationalities that had clearly been bolstered or blatantly falsified.

[rumak]

4 minutes ago, OJAS said:

So in your view, then, we should be singing the praises of the Immigration Bureau to the highest heavens for not providing official English translations of their various diktats, should we? 

very sorry.. yes they should have english translations.

 

But...........................     that is still not going to prevent another thread just like this !   believe me or not,

i just don't give a hoot 

[wobalt]

There is no requirement to prove the money came from abroad when using the money in the bank option for an extension of stay application.
You can leave the money in the bank if you want to. There is no requirement to bring new funds in every year,

Fine but considering all the “other” hazzles like pics, maps, home visits, TM30 et al. I will stick to the old visa 1 y visa way.


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[Derek B]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:36 AM, RupertIII said:

UK state pension can be transferred to a Thai a/c but only in Thai Baht. Mine is sent here every 4 weeks.

 

I noticed on another thread that the monies had to be transferred from the home country, no mention of that here. Many people, myself included, hold their funds offshore with no bank a/c in their home country. 

If you arrange to have your UK State Pension paid directly into a bank overeas other than in the EU or EEA you will probably loose your entitlement to any increases in the UK State Pension. Better to pay it into a UK bank or EU bank and draw on it as you require.

[SooKee]

11 minutes ago, rumak said:

Gee, this might be a crazy suggestion, but  WHY NOT ASK THE BANK IF MC..ETC   IS THE CODE FOR AN INTL TRANSfER ???     

Just an idea  ......

I did not ask the question that this quote referred to, indeed I provided the answer as to what MCL might mean.  Not sure if it's user error or systems glitch but the quote has been wrongly assigned to me.

Edited January 7, 2019 by SooKee

[JackThompson]

15 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

They are not messing you around again;

They are helping you to stay despite the decision of your embassy.

Some embassies' decisions not to change their policies to meet Thailand's moving goalposts, you mean?  The wording on our embassy-letters has been very clear for years.

 

This change will be a difficult adjustment for many who had the required gross-income to qualify using the letter. 

 

We shall see how the other embassy-letters fare - I doubt all will make the cut, as many are not substantially different than the UK or AU/USA systems.

Edited January 7, 2019 by JackThompson

[rumak]

2 minutes ago, wobalt said:

  1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

There is no requirement to prove the money came from abroad when using the money in the bank option for an extension of stay application.
You can leave the money in the bank if you want to. There is no requirement to bring new funds in every year,

ubonjoe.....you have the patience of a saint.  i can not read all 57 pages but i am pretty sure you have said this a number of times. (in ENGLISH).   maybe try spanish or french ?

[Moonlover]

3 minutes ago, Derek B said:

If you arrange to have your UK State Pension paid directly into a bank overeas other than in the EU or EEA you will probably loose your entitlement to any increases in the UK State Pension. Better to pay it into a UK bank or EU bank and draw on it as you require.

So you're advocating fraud are you?

[geoffbezoz]

2 minutes ago, Derek B said:

If you arrange to have your UK State Pension paid directly into a bank overeas other than in the EU or EEA you will probably loose your entitlement to any increases in the UK State Pension. Better to pay it into a UK bank or EU bank and draw on it as you require.

Nothing to do which bank it is paid into.  Losing entitlement to pension increases is dependent upon your country of residence.

[rumak]

5 minutes ago, SooKee said:

I did not ask the question that this quote referred to, indeed I provided the answer as to what MCL might mean.  Not sure if it's user error or systems glitch but the quote has been wrongly assigned to me.

TV.......sheet happens.    ok, see you did answer to the poster about codes.  I use Bkk bank and am sure they would explain the codes if i asked

Edited January 7, 2019 by rumak

[Pattaya46]

5 minutes ago, ginjag said:

How are they helping you stay, a good % had 30k and 540k in the bank,  how do persons get  more O/A/pension to cover the income ??     they are helping only the persons with bigger incomes/pensions..  BUT you are thinking of these more well off people.   Imagine a person living here 14 years ...all of a sudden he may have to sell a small condo to rake up the 800,000 baht,  then go and rent.....failing that sell his car.....FAIR  ??  helping  ?????

Thai Immigration is helping by adding a method to qualify for a yearly extension (for those who can't have an Embassy Letter anymore)

For the rest of your message, send these complains to your Embassy .

 

[KhunFred]

3 hours ago, ocddave said:

Corruption trumps everything, so agents more than likely have a different set of rules.

I will GLADLY  pay a visa service 3500 baht to have certainty. That is a bargain.

[JackThompson]

15 minutes ago, ginjag said:

How are they helping you stay, a good % had 30k and 540k in the bank,  how do persons get  more O/A/pension to cover the income ??     they are helping only the persons with bigger incomes/pensions..  BUT you are thinking of these more well off people.   Imagine a person living here 14 years ...all of a sudden he may have to sell a small condo to rake up the 800,000 baht,  then go and rent.....failing that sell his car.....FAIR  ??  helping  ?????

The combo-method still exists, as does the "money in the bank" method.  This change only pertains to how "incomes" will be substantiated.  In the case you cite, the 30K would now need to be foreign-xferred into a Thai bank account every month (instead of the embassy-letter).  If it is not paid calendar-monthly, buffer in a foreign-account and manually make monthly payments.

 

If they cannot send the entire 30K, however, due to passport-country expenses (or taxes, for some of us) they are going to need more bank-money to make that combo-method reach 800K - OR - they will have to send some of the 30K back (or spend it out of their Thai-bank's MC/Visa debit card, etc) to cover home-country expenses.

 

This change will be a pita for many, and of those, some will leave (moving the Thai jobs they support to Vietnam or where ever), and others will switch to agents.

Edited January 7, 2019 by JackThompson

[ginjag]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Thai Immigration is helping by adding a method to qualify for a yearly extension (for those who can't have an Embassy Letter anymore)

For the rest of your message, send these complains to your Embassy .

 

You are skirting around my point, about pension income.  If it was fair Thai I would have said  your UK pension of 30k will be sufficient with the 540k bank deposit... you are clearly not bothered about people with adequate incomes that now fall short........because of your refer/complain to the Embassy.....TI are upping the pension income level sod all to do with the Embassy withdrawing their confirm letters.

[Derek B]

My plan is to maintain 800,000 baht for at least 3 months prior to applying for a retirement visa with multiple entry added on using my usual agency who should know what is required and so far have not raised any red flags - so to speak.

If that doesn't work I will either go back to being a tourist or go to another ASEAN country.

 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Correct, please? And, in the case of the monthly income method, will not Immigration accept docs obtained from your bank any time after the latest (12th) monthly transfer has been credited (your comment would appear to indicate that they might not)?
 

I don't really know what immigration will accept for the age of the bank letter for your account showing the money coming into the country.

Certainly no reason to do it on the date you apply for the extension.

 

[SooKee]

11 minutes ago, rumak said:

TV.......sheet happens.    ok, see you did answer to the poster about codes.  I use Bkk bank and am sure they would explain the codes if i asked

'Sheet happens' if it's a systems glitch.  User error (incompetence) is down to the user.  Not sure which was to blame in this case but, if quoting others, folks shouldn't be misquoted.

 

Folks don't even need to ask banks for the codes.  They are readily available, generally at the very least supplied with any statement (email or hard copy).

Edited January 7, 2019 by SooKee

[Pattaya46]

2 minutes ago, ginjag said:

You are skirting around my point, about pension income.  If it was fair Thai I would have said  your UK pension of 30k will be sufficient with the 540k bank deposit... you are clearly not bothered about people with adequate incomes that now fall short........because of your refer/complain to the Embassy.....TI are upping the pension income level sod all to do with the Embassy withdrawing their confirm letters.

Sorry I am not sure to understand. As someone said above the Combo method still exists, so 30k monthly + 540k in the bank should still make this person qualify for Retirement Extension ??

[mogandave]

With a computer. The pension in GB is not paid via a government agency as in Germany


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So they don’t have privacy laws in Germany?

[Pattaya46]

Just to try to understand why many people would not qualify for yearly extension anymore;

 

Which are the cases where a person who qualified before (with an Embassy Letter)

will not be able to qualify with new rules (as given on page 1) ? 

 

1- when the Income just above 65k was the Gross one, not the Net one ;

2- …?

Edited January 7, 2019 by Pattaya46

[wobalt]

So they don’t have privacy laws in Germany?

They have but you can grant them access


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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, ChokDee4213 said:

 

Nothing in the OP talks about bank books or letters from banks. It does talk about income tax documents. Did I overlook something in the last 49 pages? Can you show how this is not conjecture?

 

 

Go back and read the OP again.....

 

Quote

2.       Evidence of a pension. Letter of certification from a Thai bank supported by bank statements showing a pension being transferred to the pensioner’s bank account every month for at least 12 months.

 

[JackThompson]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Just to try to understand why many people would not qualify for yearly extension anymore;

 

Which are the cases where a person who qualified before (with an Embassy Letter)

will not be able to qualify with new rules (as given on page 1) ? 

 

- when the Income just above 65k was the Gross one, not the Net one ;

This ^^^ for many.  Many have expenses in their passport-country or taxes deducted from their gross-income payments.

 

2 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

- when this would have big taxes consequences (??) ;

- ...

^^^ Yes, if they will need to switch to (or adjust) their combo method, and may have to "cash out" investments to do this - which makes the gains taxable (details vary by country). 

 

But that move could also result in a lower mo-income, assuming the wealth was paying better ROI where it was, than in a Thai bank.  At that point, they need even more money "in the bank," to compensate for a lower mo-income, etc.

[ginjag]

18 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Sorry I am not sure to understand. As someone said above the Combo method still exists, so 30k monthly + 540k in the bank should still make this person qualify for Retirement Extension ??

As I read it the 30k is insufficient in Thai Immigration eyes to live on, I scanned the 1 million replies and get this impression